Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Among Urban and Rural Police Officers
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Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Among Urban and Rural Police Officers Waqar Husain 1
# Society for Police and Criminal Psychology 2019
Abstract The present study was carried out to investigate the difference in the levels of stress, anxiety, and depression among urban and rural police officers of the Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa province of Pakistan. The inquiry included 315 police officers from three districts of the understudied province. Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (Lovibond and Lovibond 1995) was administered. It was hypothesized that police officers working in urban areas would project higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress as compared to police officers working in rural areas. The results supported the hypotheses on significant differences. Keywords Depression . Anxiety . Stress . Urban . Rural . Police
Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Among Urban and Rural Police Officers Stress, anxiety, and depression are widespread psychological problems of working persons. These are the most commonly diagnosed illnesses in psychology (University at Buffalo 2008). Much consideration is given to these areas as the prevalence of these syndromes is increasing (Cyranowski et al. 2000). Several studies have associated these syndromes to numerous negative outcomes in the workplace, such as decreased performance and satisfaction (e.g., Cavanaugh et al. 2000; Greenberg 1999; Poole 1993; Seaward 1999). The outcomes of depression, anxiety, and stress are also associated with negative outcomes in other aspects of life, including general satisfaction (Kessler et al.1994), quality of life (Norvell et al. 1993), and social interactions (Davies et al. 1995). Researchers have proposed that all populations and particularly employees are being affected by the aforesaid disturbances in epidemic proportions (Geller and Hobfoll 1994; Greenberg 1999; Norvell et al. 1993). Lovibond (1998) suggested that each of these syndromes can be
* Waqar Husain [email protected] 1
Department of Humanities, COMSATS University, Park Road, Islamabad, Pakistan
associated with decreased performance on the job, decreased satisfaction in the work environment, and poor interpersonal skills; which contribute to poor customer service, increased intention to leave, and impaired peer relations in the workplace. Traditionally, it was believed that stress, anxiety, and depression were separate constructs with varying etiologies and symptoms; however, the high comorbidity rates, especially between anxiety and depression, have gained interest and attention throughout the field (Lovibond and Lovibond 1995). Some associations are also developed between stress and depression (Lazarus 1984). The development of more complex stress models has, however, provided support for a relationship between the syndromes (Davila et al. 1995). Job stress is a common problem of almost every profession (Finn 2000; Lewis et al. 2013; Webster 2013). Police officers perform stressful tasks that are both physically and emotionally demanding (Kopel and Friedman 1999). Law enforcemen
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